Chemistry
by f.B.i
Summary: **Chapter 2 Is Up!** A story in which Draco lies, Ginny swoons, and everyone falls in love with everyone else. Not D/G, not slash, but everything else is free bait. One more for old times, how about it? plz r/r
1. Chapter One

Don't let the first few lines fool you

Chemistry

A STORY ABOUT GUYS, GIRLS, AND THE REASONS WHY

Don't let the first few lines fool you. This is **NOT **slash.

Ron turned on his heel and peered anxiously into Harry's eyes. 

"I really, really like you," he began quickly. "I've liked you for a long time. Will you go out with me?"

Harry gave a slight sigh from the bed on which he was sitting crossed-legged amidst a pile of books, watching Ron intently. "No, that doesn't work either," he stated bluntly. 

"What?" Ron threw up his arms in a gesture of defeat. "Why? You know what, I give up. I give up right now. What did I do wrong?"

"It wasn'tromantic enough. Can't you say something about her hair or…..or moonlight or something?"

"Her hair and moonlight, eh? Let me try," Ron's voice took on a tone of mock-seriousness. "Hermione, your hair makes me think of moonlight; will you go out with me?" He looked back over at Harry. "Like that?"

Harry grabbed a pillow and chucked it a Ron's head. "Shut up, you git. You know that's not what I meant."

Ron caught the pillow deftly in his hands. "Maybe this just isn't a good idea," he muttered. 

"What? Not a good idea? You've got to be joking, Ron, really, because if you and Hermione keep staring at each other like you do all the time, I'm going to crack. I'll go stark raving mad and it'll be all your fault. Now, you're going to ask her out….soon, understand? So you'd better figure out how to do it quick."

"I could write her a poem," Ron offered tentatively.

Harry snorted. "This is Hermione we're talking about. She doesn't go for poetry…….. or does she? You know, I don't know one single thing about girls."

"I've noticed," muttered Ron derisively. "All right, what about this: Hermione, you've shared every important experience in my life, you're my best friend, and I care more about you than anyone else in the world."

"Or you could just grab her in the hallway, spin her around, and snog her passionately," Harry offered, shrugging his shoulders.

"What? And get slapped? No thanks."

"She won't slap you if you kiss her hard enough."

Ron cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you so experienced all of a sudden? And, speaking of things happening suddenly, since when have you been so supportive of Hermione and me getting together?"

Harry looked away and shrugged once again. "It's not that I don't _love_ the idea of my two best friends going around dopey-eyed and snogging all the time. It's just that you two are so pathetic that I can't stand it anymore. You've been harboring all these feeling for each other since, what, 4th year, was it? It's 7th year, Ron; your last chance. Now or never, mate. And from the way things have been going so far, never seems the more apparent choice."

"Thanks for your unending support." Sarcasm dripped from Ron's voice as he spoke. "But in case you haven't noticed, it's your last chance too."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry looked sharply at Ron, who smiled wickedly and sat down at his desk, taking a quill into his hand and pulling a piece of parchment in front of him. 

"Hey, Harry," he called over his shoulder. "You know any words that rhyme with Hermione?"

Harry laughed, forgetting his puzzlement over Ron's comment. "Fo-tie-uh-me?"

Ron made a rude noise and tossed an inkwell over his head at Harry, who duckedexpertly and caught it just before it hit the floor. It was going to be a long, long day………

*****

Hermione sat alone in her dormitory, desperately trying to concentrate on her potions book. But other thoughts kept creeping into her head, sneaking up on her when she least expected it. _Wormroot, eye of newt, boomslang skin, Ron, damn it!_ Not him again! Was she ugly? Was that why?

Hermione slammed down her book, unable to keep these thoughts from her mind. She reached out and grabbed Lavender's hand mirror from the dressing table. 

_I don't know why I suddenly care so much_, Hermione thought as her eyes roved over her reflection in the mirror, carefully studying the shape and details of her features. _Brutally honest_, Hermione reminded herself. She was pretty enough, though by no means what people would call stunning. She had the personality and intellect to match anyone, but as far as looks went, she knew she would never be much more than a poor man's Juliet. But Ron was poor. Then again, Ron was no Romeo. 

"Maybe," she sighed to no one in particular, "maybe it's just better that way." She set the mirror back down on the dressing table and picked up her book again. 

_I just want to be Hermione,_ she thought as her eyes skimmed over black ink on the pages. _I don't want to care about looks and all that rubbish. I just want to go back to the way I used to be. Why can't I stop thinking about Ron? Ron's a git, isn't he? Isn't that the way it's supposed to be? Oh, I hate being a girl! I can't concentrate! I'm going to fail this semester all because of Ron! I hate Ron!_

But no, she didn't hate Ron. Quite the opposite, in fact. After another failed attempt at studying, Hermione hastily grabbed her book bag and stormed out of her dorm toward the library. Maybe she'd be able to concentrate there, where she'd be farther away from Ron and everything that he made her feel. But she knew she couldn't escape it. The feelings were everywhere, following her, suffocating her. It was either to act or to drown.

Her question hung unspoken in the air around her. "Does anyone have a life preserver?"

*****

"Finished!" called Ron triumphantly from his desk, startling Harry, who had slowly begun to fall into a stupor.

"Huh? Finished what?" Harry asked drearily.

"My poem to Hermione. Listen: 'Hey there Hermione, I think you're kinda neat. And if we got together, it would be really sweet. So please don't leave me hanging; I've really got to know. Will you be my girlfriend? Just answer yes or no.' So, what do you think….Harry…..Harry?"

Ron looked over his shoulder and spotted Harry, no longer on the bed but on the floor next to it, his shoulders convulsing with silent laughter.

"I think," he gasped between spurts of giggles, "that that's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard in my entire life."

Ron bit his lip in a sour expression. "Is it really that bad?"

"You sound exactly like Dr. Seuss!" Harry exclaimed.

"Who's that?"

"Someone that you sound like," Harry said offhandedly. "Don't tell me you were actually thinking of giving that to Hermione." He stood, wiped the tears from his eyes, and went to stand behind Ron, peering down at the poem over his shoulder.

"I thought you were being supportive," Ron muttered darkly.

"I was. But this - - this isn't worthy of support."

"So," began Ron, "where exactly in the hallway should I grab her and spin her around?"

"Somewhere where I'm not," said Harry simply, grabbing the poem from Ron and tossing it into the fireplace. 

"Now?"

"Now," Harry nodded.

Ron rose sullenly from his chair and trudged over to the door.

"C'mon, Ron, brighten up," called Harry as Ron pulled open the door and stepped out of the dormitory. "You look like you're on your way to be executed."

"You never know," Ron called back. "I just may be."

*****

The first place Ron looked for Hermione was in her dormitory and when she wasn't there, he instantly set off for the library. In his head, he rehearsed lines over and over, the words he would say to her when he found her. Should he say something about the moonlight? About her hair? Should he just kiss her? He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. _Why does it have to be this complicated?_

__It was around dusk when Ron pushed open the door to the library, thin streams of light from the windows pouring out like snakes onto row after row of books. He looked around and spotted Hermione's book bag, the familiar brown one she always carried, full to the brim with various books and papers. But where was Hermione?

Ron walked between aisle after aisle of books until at last coming to a dark corner in which rested several large armchairs. In the dim light, Ron could see movement in one of them. A girl with bushy brown hair. But - - but she wasn't alone. Someone was with her. She was kissing him…….

Ron felt himself grow sick to his stomach as his face paled and blanched. It was Hermione……And she was kissing someone……But not just any someone. 

It was Malfoy.

_ _

*****Alas, thus ends Chapter One. I claim nothing and I apologize for nothing. I especially don't apologize to Hermione for making her snog Malfoy. Draco's sexy…..dead sexy, lol. And Harry's not so bad either. *slaps herself across the head* Stop it, Rachel, you've got a boyfriend. You don't need to be fantasizing about fictional wizards. Anyway, write a review, tell me what you think, ask for more (if you want it). Flame me, threaten me, praise me, slander my very soul, but one truth remains: Review or Die…….and have a nice day. Ciao!~ f.B.i.


	2. 

After much extensive re-reading of the last chapter, I've stumbled upon a Truth

After much extensive re-reading of the last chapter, I've stumbled upon a Truth. My story has neither plot nor meaning and the characters are mostly OOC. So with a tap of my keyboard and a click of my brain, I've written a plot into this chapter which will develop rather quickly, leave you confused and gasping for air, but sort itself out at the end. As far as OOC goes: I like my characters this way. They amuse me greatly and I don't plan to change them. So, without further ado, Chapter Two…..(rhyme unintentional)

This chapter goes out to all the people out there who think Draco would look sexy in a leather G-String. Ugh! Startling image, that. Perhaps I'll pass on this one……

It was Malfoy.

For a moment, Ron couldn't decide whether he should interrupt them or just leave quietly. Then he regained his senses and walked over next to the chair in which sat Draco and Hermione, still snogging furiously. 

"Could anyone tell me where to find a book on Mandrakes?" Ron spoke loudly.

Hermione's eyes grew wide and she jumped away from Malfoy so fast that the chair titled and rocked as she darted out of it.

"Ron!" she exclaimed, flustered. "What're you doing here?"

"Well I'm obviously not making out with Malfoy!" he spat back.

Draco, meanwhile, had risen from the chair and elegantly smoothed out his crumbled robes. He now peered over at Ron and Hermione, who's quarrel had developed into quite a screaming match. He could catch bits and pieces of what they were saying: 'You have absolutely no right to tell me who I can or can't kiss!' 'I have every right when you decide to go off and snog someone like Malfoy!' 

"All this commotion over me?" Draco interrupting loudly, causing Ron and Hermione to break off and lapse into silence. "Don't I feel special."

"YOU!" shouted Ron, turning to face him, face hot and fists clenched. "You get out of here before I beat your head it!"

"No need for violence, Weasley," Draco scoffed, pulling his own fists into little balls. "But if you insist on a fight, I'll be happy to oblige."

"No, you won't," said Hermione, quickly stepping in between them. She turned toward Draco. "Just go," she hissed. "Go."

Draco let his eyes rove over her body, as if sizing her up. He took in her frazzled hair, wrinkled robes, flustered expression, and then darted a swift glance back at Ron.

"Right, then," Draco consented. "We'll continue this later, Hermione."

He turned on his heel and sauntered away into a sea of books.

"Like hell you won't!" Ron called angrily to his retreating back.

"Shut up, Ron," Hermione snapped, falling back down into the chair. She carefully lifted up a small cup of some brownish liquid from the table next to her and began to sip it slowly.

Ron's curiosity got the better of him. "What's that?" he asked impatiently.

Hermione looked up at him. "Coffee," she replied simply. "My parents got me hooked on it while I was at home this summer. Most Muggles drink tea, I suppose, but my parents prefer coffee. It's supposed to be horrible for your teeth, but my father says that everyone deserves at least one guilty pleasure."

"Oh," said Ron, momentarily forgetting his anger in this new revelation. Hermione liked to drink coffee. He'd have to remember that. 

Ron threw his gaze around lazily until it fell upon another cup of identical brown liquid resting on the table where Hermione's cup had been only moments before – Malfoy's cup. His anger rushed back on him forcefully.

"What the hell did you think you were doing!?" he shouted down at her.

Hermione jumped, surprised at his loud outburst, but quickly regained composure. "I don't know what I was thinking. I was just feeling really depressed," _because of you_, she forgot to say, "and Malfoy was there…and he said something about moonlight……"

"Moonlight?" Ron asked, his face blanching. _Moonlight_……

"Yes, moonlight, Ron, you heard me," Hermione spat back at him, quickly becoming angry. "And what gives you the right to be so possessive? It's not like there's anything going on between us!"

_No_, Ron thought,_ it isn't like that at all. _

"But it's Malfoy, Hermione!" he shouted angrily. "You know, the one with the Death Eater father, the one who always calls you Mudblood, the one we hate, the one who hates us back! How could you possibly stand to have any part of his body touching yours?!"

Hermione slammed her cup back down on the little table and jumped up from the chair. "Malfoy's not as bad as he seems, Ron! He's just misunderstood!"

Ron scoffed back at her. "Malfoy? Misunderstood? How can you possibly believe that?"

"Just because you hate him doesn't mean that I have to," Hermione hissed.

"And this coming from the girl who slapped him clean around the face in 3rd year!"

"Third year was a long time ago, Ron," Hermione whispered into the darkness, her eyes growing sullen and heavy. "A lot's changed since then. And sometimes, you just have to know when to give up and move on." With that, she turned away from Ron and walked quickly into the darkness.

When he could no longer see her retreating form, Ron sank into the armchair that she had just departed from. The one where he'd caught her kissing Malfoy. What had she meant by 'you just have to know when to give up and move on?' Move on from what? 

Ron sighed and let his head droop down onto the armrest. It was dark now, very dark. Sleep quickly overtook him and he drifted away, far from the library, far from the chair, far from the very spot where he sat defeated and alone amid shelf after shelf of dusty books. 

In the small cup next to Ron, the coffee began to swirl on its own accord, slowly, then faster, frothing and bubbling. It turned red, then purple, then pink, and finally back into coffee once again. Ron slept on.

*****

Hermione awoke the next morning with a splitting headache and cramps all over her body. Memories of the previous night slammed into her head like bullets and she ran to the bathroom, gagging and retching, where she threw up into the toilet. 

_Why do I feel so sick_, she thought as she splashed cold water over her pale face. She was very thankful that it was a Saturday, and for once in her life, had no desire whatsoever to attend class. 

Tugging a dressing robe over her head, Hermione stumbled back into her dorm room, where something large and brilliantly colored caught her eye for the first time. There, on her nightstand, were a dozen roses, not red, but a vivid shade of magenta. Letting out a rare squeal of delight, Hermione rushed over to them and bent down to take in their scent. Something sharp brushed against her nose and she peered down to see a little golden card attached with a matching ribbon to one of the flowers.

Shifting excitedly from one foot to the other, Hermione tore the card away from the bouquet and flipped it open. She caught her breath as her eyes took in the words written on the paper with delicate dips and flourishes: '_Dear Hermione, How are you? I think we really need to talk about what happened last night. It was more or less the last thing I was expecting to ever happen to me, and I'm not sure what to think anymore. I don't know whether to be mad, or to hate you, or to - - to like you. Will you meet me in the Charms classroom tonight at 11 o'clock? – Draco_'

Up until that very moment, the mere thought of Draco Malfoy would have made Hermione want to gouge someone's eyes out with a blunt object before painfully ripping the skin from their body and tossing their rotting corpse into a pile of wildly licking flames. But standing there, reading that card, catching the faint scent of blossoming roses, she couldn't help but get little butterflies all in her stomach. 

_And why shouldn't I go?_, Hermione thought. _It's not as if I have plans with anyone _else. _Besides, Draco's really…really good looking_, Hermione thought with a devilishly guilty feeling. She couldn't deny that Draco was hot, but there was still something at the back of her mind that told her she preferred red-heads, and that Ron's 'Adorable' could stand up to Draco's 'Sexy As Hell' any day.

*****

Draco Malfoy was always punctual. You wouldn't think it just by looking at him, but it was one of his more interesting qualities. Tonight would be no exception, and Draco wasted no time in throwing his cloak around his shoulders and scampering out of the common room by exactly five minutes to eleven. 

One could almost mistake that look on his face for a sly grin, but it was not so. A look of triumph? Of satisfaction? When it came to Draco Malfoy, one could never be quite certain. And tonight was no exception. 

***** Oooh, Draco and Hermione are meeting secretly in the dead of night! (SCANDAL! SCANDAL!) What more could anyone ask for? (Besides a plot…and a better story…and…) All this and I haven't even _touched_ on the Harry situation……or all of the other situations that are spinning around inside my head. But any suggestions? Who would look better together: Hermione and Draco or Hermione and Ron. I don't know, Draco may be dead sexy, but how would their children look? *shudders* That's enough for now, more to come later, and remember: Review or Die! Ciao!~ f.B.i.

**DRACO MALFOY TURNS ME ON!**

Come on, people, you should know by now never to take me seriously………


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